Summary study book Organisational Psychology of Stephen P. Robbins, T. A. Judge, Aletta Odendaal, G. Roodt (Chapter 02) - ISBN: 9781776102495 (Learning Unit 02)
LEARNING UNIT 2: Attitudes and Job satisfaction (CHAPTER 2)
2. Attitudes
Attitudes are evaluative statements - either favourable or unfavourable - about objects, people or events. An
attitude is a favourable or unfavourable disposition towards objects, individuals or events. Attitudes are far more specific
than values.
3 Main components of an attitude
• Cognitive component – the aspect of an attitude that is a description of or belief in the way things are.
• Affect component – emotional or feeling segment of an attitude.
• Behavioural component – refers to an intention to behave in a certain way towards someone or
something.
Does behaviour always follow from attitudes?
No, behaviour does not always follow from attitudes. Whether behaviour follows from attitudes is determined by
“cognitive dissonance”, which refers to any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behaviour and
attitudes:
Individuals seek to reduce this uncomfortable gap or dissonance in order to reach stability and consistency.
Consistency is achieved by changing attitudes, modifying behaviour or through rationalisation.
The desire to reduce dissonance depends on:
➢ the importance of the elements
➢ the degree of individual influence
➢ the rewards involved in dissonance.
Some moderating variables strengthen the link between attitudes and future behaviour. The five most powerful moderators of
the attitude-behaviour relationship are:
• the importance of the attitude
• correspondence to behaviour
• accessibility
• the existence of social pressures
• personal and direct experience of the attitude
Important attitudes have a strong relationship with behaviour. The closer the match between attitude and behaviour,
the stronger the relationship. Specific attitudes predict specific behaviour. General attitudes predict general behaviour. The
more frequently an attitude is expressed, the better predictor it is. High social pressures reduce the relationship and may cause
dissonance. Attitudes based on personal experience are strong predictors.
For example, an employee who has been suspended for taking part in an unprotected strike will be less likely to take part in
such a strike in the future.
What are the major job attitudes?
Three work-related attitudes can be identified:
• job satisfaction, which refers to a person’s general attitude to their job.
• job involvement, which is the degree to which a person psychologically identifies with the job.
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